Writing the Dragonborn
by BrokenButStillStanding
Summary: The Dragonborn has disappeared after defeating Alduin. Why? And what of the people she left behind? Writing to the Dragonborn shows the letters that have been written to her. When she finally returns what will happen to Vilkas when he is hit with a certain feeling?
1. Letter: Brynjolf

Laiyana,

Where are you? After you disappeared to go after Alduin you never returned to the guild. As guild master you need to be here when we need you. Vex is sick and bedridden, Delvin won't leave her side and Maven is getting angry with our lack of activity. On top of all that Karliah and I are trying to keep a rival guild out of the way. We need you to get back here, as I told you before I am not leader material.

Brynjolf


	2. Letter: Nazir

Laiyana,

Jobs are piling high and Babette and I cannot take care of them all by ourselves, even with the new recruits. Also, I fear the night mother is getting upset with the lack of jobs she's giving out. You are our listener, I understand you have other responsibilities but I fear if you do not return soon the night mother will destroy us all. After all she is not a patient woman.

Nazir


	3. Letter: Ralof

Laiyana,

I am getting worried, where are you? I do not know if you are dead or not and as one of my comrades and a dear friend I am reasonably quite concerned. It does not matter if you come to see me or not, but please at least write me back to ease my worries.

Ralof


	4. Letter: Ulfric

Laiyana,

Imperial forces are rising once more and we are in need of your assistance. As a honored warrior among our ranks I need you do take control of the southern portion of the army as I cannot control everything at once. I've sent this messenger to find you, wherever you are, because we are in desperate need of your services.

High King Ulfric Stormclock


	5. Letter: Vilkas

Laiyana,

The others have requested that I write this, as I can word it best of all. Being Harbinger of the Companions is not a part time job. At first we were worried that you had died after fighting with Alduin, but sightings of you have been reported. I do not know why it is that you have not returned to us, but I would be lying if I said we are not hurt by it. I speak of us as a group although I saw this coming long before you left. Return by the next full moon or your leadership shall be revoked.

Vilkas


	6. Laiyana: Reading the Letters

Laiyana sat in the shady inn right outside of a small town she did not yet know the name of. Her face was gaunt, red hair damp and matted, nails bitten to stubs leading to a bruised and dirty body. She held in her hands five letters from the people she could not face. Why not? She would ask herself this every day. But she didn't want anyone to see what she had become. Before she had left she was a bright and beautiful young girl with spirit for everything she did. Now that the battle was over with, the long scar that ran diagonally across her face from the claws of the great dragon seemed to mock her. Her long locks that she once wore were cut near to her head. She rarely smiled and was barely recognizable to those who knew her. She got up to retreat to her old skeever infested room. Peering into the cracked mirror atop the rotting dresser she frowned at what she saw. She glanced at the letters still in her hands and sighed, her mind battling her heart. She shook her head and sat on her bed with a creak as dust rose up. She coughed and batted at the air before it settled down again. She heard a small crinkle in the corner of the room and turned to see a skeever nibbling on the corner of one of the many journals she'd picked up among her adventures. She brushed it off and grabbed the journal as it skittered away. She was about to replace it when she saw a name on the end of the page. Hers. Her attention was held on the page as she opened the journal. Kodlaks. As she read it over tears began to gather in her eyes. She glanced at the letters on the dresser once more and sighed. She stood up and grabbed her pack and weapons as she headed out the door to Jorrvaskr.


	7. Vilkas: Laiyana's Return

The last thing Vilkas expected to see at 10:00 that morning was their harbinger. She had been gone for three months now and he quite honestly never expected her to show up. He was a bit bitter, it took a threatening letter from him for her to bother showing any responsibility. There she was, shuffling nervously at the front of Jorrvaskr. If he did not know her very well he would not have recognized her. She had shaven most of her long hair off so it was the length of a boys, shorter than his own. She also donned a new scar, running from the top right corner of her forehead and running all the way to the left corner of her lip. She was thinner and her face was sunken in and sad. She looked as if she had not slept in weeks and not eaten in longer. Concern for her spiked through him before he chided himself, she did not come to them. He had no reason to feel guilty. She cleared her throat and avoided his gaze. He finally got the courage to speak up.

"Where have you been?" Vilkas said, his tone obviously one of displeasure. She gave him a fierce glare and he saw some of the spirit he recognized.

"It's none of your business" She spat at him and he stood up, taking a step forwards.

"Actually, I think it is considering you are our harbinger." He said lowly as she took a step back.

"I needed time to myself" She said, less sure of herself as she said it. He gave her a withering glare and stepped out of her personal space and went back to his chair. The others rattled in with excitement from wherever they had been and stopped short.

"Laiyana?" He heard his brother ask and she looked nervous again, turning as if to hide her face. Before she could make any excuses, Farkas had lumbered forwards and grasped her up, swinging her around. At his sudden movement the others snapped out of it and went forwards to greet the breton. Vilkas stood up, shocked at their instant acceptance of the woman who had been neglecting them for months. He shook his head in disgust and retreated downstairs. As he angrily stormed towards his room something stopped him. The door to Laiyana's room was open. She had been in there. Vilkas knew he shouldn't, but eventually curiosity took over and he walked over to her room and pushed his way inside.


	8. Vilkas: The Harbinger's Room

As soon as the door to the harbingers room creaked open, Vilkas knew he was wrongly trespassing on her privacy, but the selfish part of his mind convinced him to press onwards. He had never actually been in her room before, he realized with a start. He looked over to the side and saw the burlap sack that was yet to be unpacked from her travels. On the bookshelf in the corner there was an impressive collection of what looked like journals and on the shelf below it he counted thirteen unusual looking gemstones that floated into their golden boxes. He slowly wandered over to the table by her bed and opened the drawer, inside there was a dagger (he'd expected as much) and several letters that filled the bottom. They didn't seem to have been touched in quite a long time. He shut the drawer and his curiosity brought him to her wardrobe next. He didn't know what he was expecting to find, but it wasn't what he saw. Inside there was a gray and tan suit of armor that looked like the thieves guild armor (Vilkas frowned), another skin tight suit that seemed to be black and red and looked quite dangerous. Truth be told Vilkas didn't recognize this suit of armor even though it seemed organizational. Then, the last set of armor he laid his eyes on was a silver set, a crest of the wolves their small group used to be haunted by. He shook his head, not wanting to bring up the memories of Skjor and Kodlak. He shut the wardrobe and turned around with a sigh. He was about to leave, to not invade her privacy any longer, when his eye caught one last thing. The sack. He may not have been fond of the woman, but he still felt that it was his right to know why she was gone for such a long time and worrying them all. Even him, though he would never admit it. He flipped the top of the sack open and looked inside, bandages of all shapes and sizes were the first thing he saw, below that a few knives (her swords would have been on her of course), and then one more thing that made him freeze in his tracks. Before he could fully comprehend what he had seen, an angry voice sounded behind him.

"Just WHAT do you think you are doing?!"


	9. Vilkas: Starting the Journey

Vilkas quickly shoved the thin journal into the waistband of his pants as he turned to face his very angry, very frightening, harbinger.

"Get. Out." The woman said with a deathly calm, Laiyana, unlike most of the companions, was most dangerous when she was the calmest. Vilkas knew it was time to retreat.

"I apologize harbinger I will be going" he said and swiftly exited the room as he tried to ignore the steely eyes trained on his back. As soon as he was safely back in his own room down the hall he retrieved the small journal from his waist. The journal was a plain leather one; on the inside her name and date of birth were written (3rd of Suns Dawn). The journal had only twenty pages, a small thing, but each page was filled. He knew he shouldn't but he swallowed his morals and cracked it open anyways, curiosity prevailing. The first page was written in neatly spaced letters,

_This may be my first and last entry. I will be fulfilling my destiny tomorrow. If I live it will be worth it and if I die it will be in vain. Everyone assumes it will be easy but I am afraid. Yes me, the Harbinger of the Companion, Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, Soldier of the Stormcloaks and Guildmaster of the thieves, is afraid. I'm terrified, what if I am not strong enough? Worrying will do be no good. Alduin awaits no matter if I am ready or not. I am not sure how to close this entry, farewell or hello. _

_Laiyana Shieldwolf. _

Vilkas was surprised, he had no idea the things his Harbinger was mixed in. The Stormcloaks he knew about, but the Thieves Guild and the Dark Brotherhood were another matter entirely. He flipped the page to an entry three days later.

_I won, well kind of. I was afraid yes. But my efforts have not been in vain. However, I fear that I will not return to the way I once was. I now have another battle scar, normally that would not bother me yet it does, maybe not because of the deformation, but because of the things said to go along with it. I have brought shame upon myself and I do not know why. A strange sort of cloud has hung over me, my wounds still bleed yet I force myself to bandage them. In a fit of rage I have cut my hair to my ears close to my head, but I do not know why. I have changed into some sort of monster that I do not yet know anything about. _

_Laiyana Shielfwolf._

Vilkas frowned as he shut the journal and put it under his straw mattress before returning to the living quarters. There he was greeted with a strange sight, Farkas and Aela blocked the door from a almost frightened looking Harbinger who had her pack slung over her shoulder. A slip of irritation shot up in Vilkas.

"Where do you think you're going" He said with a snarl and a spark of defiance lit up her eyes.

"I will return I do have other responsibilities you know" She snapped at him. She glanced at Farkas and Aela again before back at Vilkas.

"You're welcome to come you know, to make sure I return, after all you've seen my many uniforms you know what I've been up to" She said with an uncharacteristic sneer at Vilkas. He stepped back, a bit surprised, but Farkas nodded in encouragement.

"Give me five minutes" Vilkas grumbled before retreating to pack.


	10. Vilkas: The Brotherhood

At last Vilkas was on the road, he tread behind his Harbinger, who was still slightly upset. His pack was filled with clothes, weapons, bandages, food and Laiyana's journal. After almost an hour of silence, the normally quite Vilkas grew impatient with the woman who usually talked his ears off.

"Where are we going?" He asked

"Brotherhood" She said icily and he was quiet.

"You wait at least a mile away" she said and he shook his head

"No thanks I'll come to make sure you don't think us too inferior to return" he said and she turned around sharply

"Did I say that? No I didn't. Fine, but if you tell a soul I will gut you alive without a second thought, the Brotherhood offered me a real family before the Companions ever did." She spat and turned around, walking again. Vilkas sat stunned for a moment at her rapid mood swings before following.

After another hour they came to a clearing in Dawnstar. The waves lapped at the shore as the black door with a frightening image on it hissed before opening. She beckoned to Vilkas and he warily stepped forwards. The first scent that hit his nose was the smell of death and blood, the second thing his wolf picked up on was the scent of a vampire. His wolf howled within, wanting to yank the Harbinger back and attack whatever was giving the scent off. Laiyana however, pressed forwards even though she must smell it too, so he followed suit. The dark and musty room gave way to a set of barred off stairs, at the bottom sat a Redguard in black and red clothing, next to a small girl with the same color scheme. A woman with the same black and red armor he had seen in Laiyana's closet sat at the cooking pot stirring something. The Redguard stood when he noticed the Harbinger but frowned when he spotted Vilkas.

"Listener, you've brought a stranger to our halls." He said with a sharp edge. Laiyana merely nodded and when she spoke it was with a voice of fierce authority she had never spoken to the companions with.

"Yes Nazir, and I have already explained the repercussions of turning on us." She said with a cold voice and the unhappy Redguard sat down again. That's when Vilkas noticed the young girls bright red eyes, so that's where the vampires scent was coming from. A jolt of shock went through him at her young age but it disappeared when she grinned at him, fangs glistening. Laiyana comfortably stepped towards them.

"Where have you been Listener" The girl asked with an unhappy tone.

"It's none of your concern Babette". Laiyana said with the same cold tone of authority she had before. Neither member of the Brotherhood questioned her any further, which Vilkas was surprised with. They also didn't seem surprised by her dramatic change in appearance. At that moment Vilkas's shock grew when the woman at the cooking pot turned and bowed respectfully to her.

"My Listener, is there anything you require?" She said and Laiyana shook her head

"No Mayila" She said and the woman went back to cooking.

"You should see to the night mother" Nazir said and Laiyana only nodded before gesturing for Vilkas to follow her up the stairs again. When they reached the top he saw a golden coffin, open to reveal a mangled corpse. So that was the smell of death, Vilkas fought not to gag although his Harbinger seemed to have no problem with it. She stood for a moment, looking right at the corpse. She flinched as if being verbally reprimanded before her eyes lowered to the ground with a certain respectful fear he had seen in the eyes of the cooking pot woman. After another moment of Vilkas being confused Laiyana bowed to the corpse.

"As you wish mother" She said and she closed the coffin. Vilkas was too stunned to say anything until they were once again outside of the dark and cruel place.

"What was THAT" he demanded and Laiyana let out an irritated sigh before answering.

"Yes Vilkas I was talking to a corpse." She said flatly

"But, she talked back?!" Vilkas said, this was past anything he had ever heard of.

"Yes Vilkas, she talked back." She said with the same tone. He would have accused her of being crazy if it weren't for the fact that he knew she was anything but.

"Well where are we going now?" He asked, trying to regain some normalcy to the conversation.

"Riften, I have a contact there from Maven Black-Briar then I have some business to attend to." She said as she approached the Dawnstar carriage driver and paying the fee before climing in the back and gesturing for him to follow.

Maybe Vilkas was wrong, because it seems he knows NOTHING about his Harbinger.

**AN: so if you go into the locked room in the Black-Briar Manor you will find a dark brotherhood summoning circle like in Aventus's house. I was kind of surprised but the note explained that Maven wanted a contract so I wanted to play off that. Let me know what you think. **


	11. Vilkas and Laiyana: Late Nights

Vilkas sat in the small room in the Bee and Barb in Riften. Making sure that his companion was asleep in the next room over, he opened her journal once more and picked up where he left off.

_I don't know where I am. Well I'm in an inn but I have no idea exactly where. I don't really care either. I'm starting to think about what it would be like if I just dropped off the face of the earth? Nazir can take care of the Brotherhood, Karliah can take over the guild, and as for the Companions. Well for the Companions I'm sure Vilkas would be MORE than happy to take over leadership. I'm almost content here. Almost being the keyword, it's been a week since Alduin and it's killing me now. I've always been the Dragonborn, now it feels like there's nothing left for me to come back to. I will never forget the words of the beast before I slaughtered him. The Ancient Nord Heroes had to break me out of my stupor; otherwise I would have been high to the Hunting Grounds by now. I don't think anyone will come looking for me, even if they do they can't find me if I don't know where I am can they._

_Laiyana Shieldwolf_

Vilkas could have recoiled in shock but refrained from doing so_._ It was no secret that he had never been the Harbingers biggest supporter but even he had a strike of panic when she hadn't returned from her battle with the fierce dragon. He sighed, not wanting to read anymore, and tucked the book into his armor before going to rest.

L POV  
Laiyana sat in her room at the Bee and Barb, she gazed at her feet as she wrapped her arms around her tunic covered legs. Her vision blurred as the teas that so often sang her to sleep, came once again.

_"You've gone in, disrupted their lives. If not for you, Astrid and the others would be alive. If not for you, the guild would still have trust within themselves. If not for you, Kodlak would still be alive. I pity you Dragonborn. I really do. Slay me if you must, but know that you are no better than me. How many have you killed? Shall we compare numbers? How many innocents have you taken the lives of? Think of that Dragonborn, before you slay me. Think of that." _

Alduin's words rang in her head, it was true. A self-loathing had taken place after he poisoned her with his words. She had been distracted for only a moment afterwards, but that was all the beast needed. The scar on her face reminded her of his words and the price she paid for her distracting upon hearing them. She shut her eyes tightly as she waited for the tears to squeeze out. She sighed shakily before burying her head in the straw mattress and crying herself to sleep again.


	12. Vilkas: The Guild

After a days travel they arrived at the gates of Riften.

"I don't suppose you want to wait for me here" she said flatly and Vilkas just raised an eyebrow

"Didn't think so" she said. She beckoned him with her hand and he followed behind, he had only been to Riften a handful of times and had never liked the looks he received when he was here. She turned sharply left and Vilkas had to stop short to backtrack and follow her through a gate that led to some sort of graveyard. There he saw the infamous Maven Black-Briar. He had never been fond of the woman and by the looks of it, neither was Laiyana.

"Finally your here, took you long enough. I told Astrid ages ago to send one of you-" she snapped but Laiyana cut her off

"Astrid is dead." she said curtly, glaring with unmasked hatred at the woman. Maven managed to look surprised for a split second before returning to her haughty face again. She handed Laiyana a small piece of parchment and swiftly departed. After a moment of standing stock still and reading the note, she pockets it and walks into a small structure with a coffin in it. She kneeled down and pressed on a latch, all of a sudden a rumbling sounded and it separated, revealing a compartment. He slowly followed her down as she opened a small wooden hatch and swung her legs in. She looked back at him and dropped down. Vilkas lunged forward and leaned over the hole to see his harbinger waving up at him with a slight grin. He swung his legs over and with a breath he dropped down. Inside was a cistern, it smelled slightly of fish and there were beds around the pool of water, numerous people dressed in the brown leather of the thieves guild were sitting in and around the water. As each one noticed her they stopped short and stared, he followed her to a desk where a redheaded nord sat, but before he could take two steps forwards he was up against the wall with a blade on his neck.


	13. Vilkas: The Guild Part 2

He heard a scream from Laiyana as he was pinned to the wall, armor clanking along the stone. The red headed Nord had a dagger to his throat before he could blink.

"Brynjolf! Let him go!" he heard his harbinger yell and the Nord looked back at her

"What?" he yelled

"Stop it Brynjolf!" She yelled again and the cold steel was removed from his throat.

"What is the meaning of this" Brynjolf commanded, towering over his Harbinger, but she stood up to glare at him. Even though he knew she was more than capable of defending herself he wanted to intervene anyways, but he restrained himself.

"He is fine. He can keep a secret. Trust me" She said, gaze never leaving the thief's face. The Nord looked at her for a moment when a smooth accented voice sounded behind them.

"Brynjolf stand down" the voice said and they turned around to see a dark skinned elf wearing dark ebony armor. Brynjolf retreated to a desk in the corner and the elf embraced Laiyana quickly.

"Hello Laiyana, long time no see." The elf said and Laiyana had the sense to look down in shame. She gave a nervous glance at Vilkas and motioned for him to stay there before walking to the other side of the room. Vilkas noticed that whenever she lead someone somewhere she would lightly grab their hand and pull them along like she was used to walking with a child. He had never noticed that before, but she would take even his hand and lead him along. After a moment she returned and motioned for him to follow, they went back up the ladder as quickly as they had come and retreated into the light. They barely took two steps before a hand grabbed him and a rag was shoved over his nose and mouth. He could hear the muffled shriek of his Harbinger and could only guess that she was in the same situation as he was. He started to get a bit dizzy and heard the thump of Laiyana's body hitting the ground before he lost consciousness.


	14. Vilkas: The Silverhand

When Vilkas woke up he was in a pair of ragged trousers tied up on a wall in a cage. Laiyana was not with him, he struggled against his bonds in a panic for a moment before regaining his composure and waited patiently, trying not to rip his arms out of his sockets. He didn't know how long he had waited before he saw his companion again. Her hair had come out of it's signature double braided loop and was a wild red mess. She was wearing nothing but a ragged tunic and her war paint had been scrubbed off her face, revealing a face younger than she normally looked, silver eyes shut as she hit the floor. Blood caked her arms and legs as she whimpered in her unconscious state. One of the men who threw her in walked inside and sneered at Vilkas, he recognized the weapon he carried. The silver sword at his side revealed his association with the silver hand. Vilkas tried to hide his surprise, he thought that they had destroyed the silver hand. Apparently he was wrong. The man got in Vilkas' face and spit. Vilkas did not flinch and glared at him

"Hello companion" he said with a sneer "Is that your harbinger? Shame. She was so easy to break." he said and Vilkas felt an odd feeling in his stomach, one that wanted to tear this man limb from limb and that wanted to take Laiyana in his arms and growl at the man until he left. The man laughed at Vilkas' expression.

"Whats wrong wolf? Don't like me messing with her? She your mate? She's awfully pretty. Mabye she and I can have some fun before I kill her." He sneered and Vilkas cried out in rage and tried to lunge for the man. The man just laughed and exited the cage. He pulled at a lever and the silver chains that bound Vilkas released him. Vilkas felt a rush and a rapid beating in his heart as he rolled Laiyana onto her back, Vilkas could not make sense of this, he never liked her, he never supported her, but right now all that mattered was to keep her safe. He wrapped an arm around her and hoisted her into his arms, her blood staining his chest and skin. He ran his thumb subconsciously over her cheekbone and her eyes fluttered. He saw a flash of silver as they opened

"...Vilkas?" she said weakly and he nodded. She visibly relaxed and shut her eyes again

"This is like Alduin all over again, except I was all alone then...at least if I die here...you will be here with me..." she said with her eyes shut and Vilkas' breath hitched as he was startled by her outward acceptance of her death.

"Hush, you will not die, we have already lost one harbinger too many" he said, not recognizing his own voice. Her wounds were still bleeding he noticed, it must have been from silver weapons.

"I'm sorry" she said out of nowhere. He looked at her

"Sorry? For what?" he said, genuinely confused

"For leaving...I couldn't stand for you to see me...to see me like this...like I was..." she whispered, a tear tracking down her face. He looked at her face closely, the scar still shone like new and while her hair had grown long enough to braid it still barely reached past the top of her neck.

"We would have understood harbinger" he said. She sighed with dissatisfaction

"Please Vilkas, call me Laiyana. I never liked being called harbinger." She said, but he didn't have time to respond because the same man had opened the cage again and four men grabbed at Vilkas' arms as they drug him off.


	15. Laiyana: The Silver Hand

L POV

Laiyana had always fallen for the guys who were hard to get. The first time she'd seen Vilkas she had the sneaking suspicion that he wasn't going to like her. She was right, and that made her want him to like her even more. Laiyana wouldn't consider herself conceded, but she had eyes and she could see the way other men looked at her, she knew she wasn't bad looking and she hated the favors she got for it. Now though, it was different. Her hair was chopped short and the scar that marred her face, if she got a second glance at all it would be a one of shock. She doesn't mind too much. Her heart was breaking in half as she laid on the concrete floor, blood pooling around her as Vilkas is dragged off. It takes longer than she did for him to start yelling. It was full of pain, more pain than she'd ever seen him in. She dragged herself up and yanked at the iron bars, trying to find a way out. As she rattled the cage roughly she heard footsteps down the hallway. The leader who had overseen her torture was before her.

"Come on you little bitch" he said, he pulled the lever to open the door and Laiyana lunged for him. But she was too weak from the beatings and had lost too much blood as he easily sidestepped her and she crashed to the ground once more. He pinned her arms down and leaned so his hot breath was in her face.

"You're awfully pretty. Even with that scar on your face. Might as well make what I can of it, right curr?" he sneered and there was a blunt force on her head as it all went black.


	16. Vilkas: Saving Laiyana

Vilkas had been sitting there, in a pile of blood for almost an hour and for a reason he couldn't put his finger on he could only think of Laiyana. Before he could reflect any further another silver hand came in. Vilkas quickly laid down again, his freshly thought of plan nailed into his mind. He breathed as softly as he could as he was approached, feeling his heartbeat slow. He was sure he was going to get caught as the silver hand grew closer, but he must have been new because he barely glanced at Vilkas before shouting behind him

"The mutt is dead." he said and there was a sigh from outside of the doorway.

"Boss won't be happy" a female voice said with another sigh and the man made a sound of barking laughter

"Please, he's busy. We still have one more" he said and the steps got closer, this was the moment of truth. Vilkas felt arms under his arms and another under his legs. His body swayed as he was lifted and he felt a breeze before he was airborne and hit something cold and wet with a splash as he hit the water. He laid face down in the water until his lungs were about to burst and he lifted himself out of the water, quickly looking to see if any silver hand remained. Water dripped off him as he dragged himself up, his ragged tunic pants sticking to him.

Laiyana. He had to find her. He wasn't about to leave without his harbinger. First he needed a weapon. He snuck around to the front of the cave and crouched as he peered around the corner. Perfect. There was only one guard there and Vilkas clenched his fists, he'd been getting into fistfights since he could walk and was sure he could handle the scrawny silver hand before him. Quick as a flash he darted out and grasped the young man around his throat, minutes passed as his body went limp. A flash of guilt panged through Vilkas but it quickly vanished as he grasped the man's silver broadsword. He crouched again, sword at the ready, as he made it further into the cavern.

Every silver hand he saw fell victim to his sword until he made it to the inner cavern. Thats where he found her, he was shocked as he saw her laying beaten on the ground. Her ragged tunic was loose on her body and he saw just how much weight he'd lost since before Alduin. He lifted her to a sitting position with one arm and she opened her eyes with surprise.

"Come on we're getting out of here" he said and stood up, waiting for her to follow. She looks at the ground, face a bit red

"I can't" she said quietly

"What do you mean" Vilkas said stopping short, looking at her legs. Her legs were fine save a couple of bruises and scratches. Nothing she hadn't had before.

"Please just...help me" she said softly and Vilkas bit down his feelings of concern as he lifted her from her knees and back, scooping her into the air and ignoring her wince. She automatically buried her head into Vilkas' neck and relaxed to a certain degree. He tightened his grip on her as they faced the sunlight of the mouth of the cave. Solitude. He could see the archway of land that held the Blue Palace in the air. He knew Laiyana had a house in Solitude, it took until sunset for him to get to the docks and he ignored the stares of the citizens as he carried the woman he respected in his arms. Before he knew it he was at the gates and entered without issue, walking down the quiet cobblestone streets.

"Laiyana where's your house?" he said gruffly to the woman who still had her face buried in his neck. She pointed ahead and he followed her instruction until he came to a large house. Shock coursed through him at the pure size of the home as he knocked. A woman opened the door

"My thane!" she gasped. Vilkas already knew she was thane of every hold, he carried her into the house and the housecarl led him up the stairs to her bedroom. He laid her down and looked at her for a moment. She was awake but her eyes were closed, avoiding confrontation. He sighed and walked into the spare room

What happened?


	17. Vilkas: The Story

Vilkas was up before most of the town was, he knew they had to make the long trek to Riverwood and then to Windhelm. He was walking down the street, washed and bandaged. He made a sharp left at a wall and went through a small iron gate, up some stairs and onto a bridge. He swung his legs over the side and looked out over the rising city. He wasn't sure how long he had been there before he heard soft footsteps behind him. His werewolf senses already told him who it was so he had no need to turn. Another pair of legs swung over the wall and joined him.

"Quiet isn't it" the soft voice said and he nodded as they sat together in silence. Vilkas was surprised when he felt a small hand settle over his. For the first time he looked at her, really truly looked at her. Her face was thin and tired looking, she had bags under her eyes and her choppy red hair fell over her silver eyes. Finally his gaze came to rest on the scar that diagonally marred her face. He decided he was tired of sneaking around, reading her journal behind her back.

"What happened with Alduin" he said and she looked at him in shock, for a moment he thought she wasn't going to answer but then she spoke, quietly and slowly.

"You saw me ride Odahviing away from the keep, after that I rode to Skuldafn and fought my way through to a portal. The portal took me to Sovngarde" she said, Vilkas tried not to show his suprise but it was shocking.

"Then I met up with the ancient nord heroes, we met Alduin outside and began the fight. We didn't last five minutes in before Alduin spoke to me. He asked me what made me better than him, I've killed so many innocents. I've killed people who begged me to leave them be. What made me better Vilkas..." she said, her voice lowered even more "then he struck out at me" she said, Vilkas lifted a hand and softly traced the scar on her face. She looked out towards the city, when he realized he wasn't getting anymore out of her he just returned his hand to hers and watched the now busy city.


End file.
